The real estate industry is now required by law to carry out customer due diligence (CDD) on buyers and sellers, bringing the sector into line with banking and financial services industries.
The CDD process is mandatory as part of the Australian Federal Government’s new Anti-Money Laundering / Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) laws, and the intent is to help ensure property transactions are transparent and secure.
The legislation came into effect on July 1, 2026, and makes our team at Effective Property Solutions a reporting entity. This means we’re required by AUSTRAC – Australia’s financial crimes regulator – to verify the identity of vendors, purchasers, landlords, and tenants, and determine if those involved in transactions are politically exposed or on sanctions lists.
CDD At a Glance
- Like all other real estate agencies, we must now undertake CDD (also known as Know Your Customer or KYC checks) for every new listing and client engagement, and these checks are necessary regardless of transaction size.
- In order to do this, we will require clients to provide identification and supporting information. The type of information to be collected and verified will differ for individuals, companies or trusts.
- For sellers, these legally required checks will be carried out when a property is listed for sale and advertising will be unable to commence until CDD is finalised.
- For buyers, CDD will be done once an offer is accepted. In some instances, CDD done by a settlement agent may be able to be used.
EPS’ CDD Commitment
The EPS team is committed to making CDD as simple as possible. As part of streamlining this process, we will ensure you know early what documents are required from you.
We are more than ready for this change and have completed mandatory AML/CTF training, and have registered our company with AUSTRAC.
We’ve also implemented internal compliance and risk assessment processes and appointed a dedicated AML compliance officer.
When working with EPS, we will guide you through every step of the CDD process.
To find out more, get in touch with us today.
